INSIGHT

A specialist from the University of Santo Tom=E1s stated that it is a monito de monte, a small mammal that lives in the Valdivian rainforest and hides during the day.

SANTIAGO, October 25: The mysterious creature which caused expectation throughout Chile and which was even reputed to be extraterrestrial in origin turned out to be a mammal known as Monito de Monte (literally, mountain monkey). This was the statement made by veterinarian and professor of the Univ. of Santo Tomas, Arturo Mann, who subjected the specimen to analysis. The specialist, who was one of the few scientists who
had access to the specimen found by a family in Concepcion, stated that--based on his knowledge and publications--he can assure with a 90% certainty that the species is terrestrial in origin.

"After a preliminary analysis and without seeing it in "macro" fashion, I have concluded that it is earthly. In other words, a little animal, a mammal that presents hair, nails, fingers. It is earthly and even terrestrial, which is to say, it's not a flying animal. It shows appendages suited to walking and even for digging, with long nails. The body shows some damage, possibly from animal predation or poor care [in the handling] of this little animal.

Terra.Cl: What is it, then?

"It is a small mammal, known as a micromammal, specifically a marsupial and given the region it was found, would correspond with a high degree of certainty to a "monito del monte". To reach the conclusion that it is this "monito" or a marsupial, we are mainly based in the fact that the anterior members present five fingers with an opposable thumb. This means that the animal can grip branches using its hand. That's why it's called
"monito" (little monkey).

Terra.Cl: It is commonly found in the southern area of the country?

Not very commonly. It's a hard animal to find. Possibly these people came across a moribund animal.

Terra.Cl: In this case, can we speak of a foetus or a newborn?

"It's a newborn, possibly weakened. Bear in mind that
marsupials in Chile hibernate during the winter. By not having any food, they go to sleep in April or May, and in late August and September, they emerge in a lethargic, weakened state to find food. This makes them more vulnerable to attacks by other animals or to die from climactic conditions."